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Archives of American Art
A Finding Aid to the Forrest Bess photographs and slides, circa 1981
Summary
- Collection ID:
- AAA.bessforp
- Creators:
-
Bess, Forrest, 1911-1977
- Dates:
-
circa 1981
- Languages:
-
English.
- Physical Description:
-
58 Items
- Repository:
This collection of Forrest Bess photographs and slides consists of 20 photographs, 38 slides, and 38 negatives, and dates from circa 1981. 20 color prints and 31 slides are of works of art by Forrest Bess; some, if not all, are from the collection of Harry Burkhart of Bay City, Texas. Negatives are labeled "Fridge Curtis" and are also of artwork by Bess. Also found are 5 slides of works by Bess from the Hawkins Ranch collection, and 2 slides of works from the Margaret and Austen Furse collection.
Scope and Contents
Scope and Contents
This collection of Forrest Bess photographs and slides consists of 20 photographs, 38 slides, and 38 negatives, and dates from circa 1981. 20 color prints and 31 slides are of works of art by Forrest Bess; some, if not all, are from the collection of Harry Burkhart of Bay City, Texas. Negatives are labeled "Fridge Curtis" and are also of artwork by Bess. Also found are 5 slides of works by Bess from the Hawkins Ranch collection, and 2 slides of works from the Margaret and Austen Furse collection.
Biographical / Historical
Biographical / Historical
Forrest Bess (1911-1977) was a painter and fisherman in Bay City, Texas, known for his generally small, abstract, biomorphic paintings, and his ideas on the merging of masculine and feminine energy.
Although Bess lived much of his life in relative isolation, he was represented by Betty Parsons in New York, and his work received renewed interest after a 1981 solo show at the Whitney Museum of American Art. Although most of his paintings are in private collections, his work can be found in museums including the Menil Collection, the Museum of Modern Art, the Whitney Museum, the San Francisco Museum of Art, and others.
Administration
Author
Stephanie Ashley
Existence and Location of Copies
The collection was digitized in 2021 and is available on the Archives of American Art's website.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Collection was collected as part of the Archives of American Art's Texas project. Items on reel 3781 were donated in 1985 by Sandra Levy, collector for the project and photographer of some of the slides. Additional slides were donated by Margaret Lewis Furse in 1982.
Processing Information
The collection was partially microfilmed on Reel 3781 after receipt. It was processed and described in a finding aid by Stephanie Ashley, and digitized, in 2021.
Using the Collection
Conditions Governing Access
This collection is open for research. Access to original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C. Research Center.
Conditions Governing Use
The Archives of American Art makes its archival collections available for non-commercial, educational and personal use unless restricted by copyright and/or donor restrictions, including but not limited to access and publication restrictions. AAA makes no representations concerning such rights and restrictions and it is the user's responsibility to determine whether rights or restrictions exist and to obtain any necessary permission to access, use, reproduce and publish the collections. Please refer to the Smithsonian's Terms of Use for additional information.
Related Materials
Related Materials
The Archives of American Art also holds the Forrest Bess letter to L. E. and Patricia Cooke, the Forrest Bess letters, the Dana Friis-Hansen papers on Forrest Bess, the Louis Waldman research material on Forrest Bess, and the Rosalie Berkowitz papers relating to Forrest Bess.
Keywords
| Keyword Terms | Keyword Types | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Painters -- Texas -- Bay City | Occupation | Search Smithsonian Collections | Search ArchiveGrid |
Archives of American Art
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Business Number: Phone: 202-633-7950
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